The ConstructConnect Project Stress Index (PSI), which tracks delayed bid dates, on-hold projects, and abandonments in preconstruction, closed August 2025 [with] a 5.9 percent month-on-month decline led by a 12.2 percent drop in on-hold activity, ConstructConnect reported on September 16.
The PSI is a seasonally adjusted, equal-weight measure of delayed, on-hold, or abandoned projects. Compared to August 2024, the PSI rose 19 percent, largely driven by an 88.2 percent increase in abandonment activity. Bid date delays and on-hold projects registered year-over-year declines of 7.1 percent.
“Abandonment activity rebounded from its 2024 low, with recent results signaling a normalization toward historically typical levels rather than a continuation of elevated stress conditions … The private sector saw abandonment jumps following the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, which potentially affected commercial construction projects on the cusp of profitability that became unviable due to increases in material and operating costs. Now, the public sector is experiencing its own wave of increased abandonments, suggesting that public sector projects are now facing development constraints despite their traditional insulation from economic pressures,” the ConstructConnect report reads.
